Gay Celibacy is Weird, and That’s a Good Thing
*The following post is written by Greg Coles. Greg is a Ph.D. student at Penn State and is part of the collaborative team for The Center. Greg is also the author of the recently released book Single, Gay, Christian, which is published by InterVarsity Press. I’ve always been bad at blending in. I grew up in […]
I Need to Be Known
The following blog is written by Greg Coles. Greg is a Ph.D. candidate at Penn State and is part of The Center’s collaboration team. My favorite online dictionary has a search bar bearing the default phrase, “I’m searching for…” So when I went online a few days ago to look up the etymology of the […]
The Debate about Same-Sex Marriage is Not a Secondary Issue
That may sound like a bold claim, and maybe it is, but it’s important that you read the previous post before you read this one. In short, there are many methodological questions that often go unanswered when Christians are quick to say that same-sex marriage is or isn’t a primary theological (or gospel, or essential, […]
Is the Debate about Same-Sex Marriage a Primary or Secondary Theological Issue?
I hear this question quite often, and my response—which is frustrating to some—is always the same. What do you mean by primary and secondary, and how do you determine what is primary and secondary? People often sort out their theological convictions in terms of primary and secondary, or essential and non-essential, or gospel issues and […]
Eugene Peterson Believes in a Christian View of Marriage After all
What a weird week in Evangelicaland. Yesterday, Eugene Peterson was interviewed about his recent and final book, As Kingfishers Catch Fire, and somehow the interview was steered into a discussion about same-sex marriage. As I said in a blog yesterday, I found Peterson’s response to be fairly ambiguous and unclear. When asked a hypothetical question about […]
Eugene Peterson on Same-Sex Marriage
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already heard the news. Pastor, scholar, writer, and professor Eugene Peterson has apparently changed his view on same-sex relations and marriage. I’ll tease out what I mean by “apparently” below. But I first want to acknowledge that Eugene Peterson has had a massive influence in my life and will continue to do […]
What Should We Call the “Traditional” View of Marriage?
I really don’t like labels, but sometimes they are necessary. In the LGBT+ conversation, labels are particularly problematic. They try to stuff complex topics into a single word (or phrase), which usually diminishes various nuances of the topic they are discussing. For instance, what label do we use to describe Christians who believe that […]